Effective dental assistants possess a core set of knowledge and skills. For individuals who are new to dental assisting and are trained on-the-job it is critical to have a curriculum they can follow to become competent. For more experienced dental assistants, it is important to have a curriculum to review concepts and learn new techniques that have been recently developed.

The purpose of DAC&P is to offer a curriculum that can be taken by on-the-job trainees who need to develop basic dental assisting competencies or more experienced dental assistants who want to renew their skill set. DAC&P Part I includes: Infection Control, Tooth Dental Anatomy, Universal Numbering System, Moisture Control, Tofflemire Matrix Band and Wedge, and Dental Dam.

Participation in DACP requires a local dental program to make a commitment to:

Schedule a specific time each month for staff development.

Purchase of supplemental textbooks.

Arrange use of computer with Internet access, and with a printer.

Designate an individual who is able to support training, assess skill development, and provide oversight of individuals’ progress toward achieving learning competencies.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this course, a participant will be able to: • Create a safe environment to prevent or reduce the risk of disease transmission to patients and dental staff. • Correctly and easily identify parts and surfaces of teeth. • Correctly and easily identify teeth by using universal numbering system. • Correctly and easily identify different methods to control moisture in the oral environment. • Correctly and easily identify components and purpose of Tofflemire, matrix band and wedge. • Correctly assemble, place, and remove Tofflemire and matrix band without assistance. • Identify, explain purpose of dental dam items and materials. • Safely and appropriately place and remove a dental dam.

Disclosure Policy:

It is the policy of the Indian Health Service, Division of Oral
Health, that faculty/planners disclose any financial or other relationships with commercial companies whose products may be discussed in the educational activity.
The Indian Health Service, Division of Oral Health, also requires that faculty disclose any unlabeled or investigative use of pharmaceutical products and medical devices.
Images that have been falsified or manipulated to misrepresent treatment outcomes are prohibited.

None of the faculty/planners for this activity has a conflict of interest, and there is no use of unlabeled or investigative pharmaceutical products or medical devices.
No images have been falsified or manipulated to misrepresent treatment outcomes.The educational objectives, content, and selection of educational methods and instructors are conducted
independent of any commercial entity.

Tuition must be paid in full 8 weeks prior to the start date of any course. Request for refunds must be received in writing at
least two weeks before the course begins. For each refund request, there will be an administrative charge of $100. No refunds will be made to registrants who fail to attend a course.
If IHS CDE program cancels a course, then 100% of the tuition will be refunded.